Bortoli Battles in Dakar Triathlon & Maranzana in the Pool
IslandStats.com
Bermudian athletes were in the thick of the action across multiple venues as the 2026 Youth Olympic Games continued in Senegal, with Gianluca Bortoli taking to the coast in Saly and Noah Maranzana back on the starting blocks in the capital.
In the men's individual triathlon at Saly Beach West Water Park, Bortoli produced a determined performance across the testing swim, bike, and run course to cross the line in 22nd place overall with a time of 57 minutes 55 seconds.
The young Bermudian emerged from the choppy waters in 17th position after completing the 750m swim leg in 8:50. Transitioning smoothly onto the technical 20.0km bike course, Bortoli posted the 23rd fastest split at 30:18 before capping off his effort with a sharp 17:57 split over the closing 5.1km run—the 17th quickest run of the day.
Portugal’s newly crowned European youth champion Artur Gaspar captured the gold medal in commanding fashion, clocking 53:13 to finish four minutes and 42 seconds clear of Bortoli. Luxembourg’s Emile Vanolst secured silver, while Japan’s Daiki Nishizaki and Kazakhstan’s Ramazan Ainegov shared bronze after an inseparable photo finish.
Meanwhile, in the swimming arena, Maranzana returned to competitive action following his earlier outings in the freestyle sprint.
Contesting heat two of the men’s 50m breaststroke, Maranzana touched the wall in 33.89 seconds to take second place in his heat. The time placed him 26th overall in the preliminary round, concluding another solid showing for the Bermudian contingent on the global stage.
Bermudian swimmers Noah Maranzana and Maggie Mewett were back in action at the Complexe Tour de l’Oeuf in Senegal, taking on stacked international fields as competition continued at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Both athletes lined up in the splash-and-dash 50m Freestyle heats before Mewett pulled double duty with an appearance in the 50m Butterfly.
Mewett delivered a sharp performance in heat five of the Women’s 50m Freestyle. Breaking from lane one, the Bermudian sprint specialist touched the wall in 28.12 seconds to claim second place in her heat, securing 27th place overall in a massive field of 69 competitors.
Maranzana mirrored that finishing position in the Men's 50m Freestyle. Drawn in the outside lane eight of heat six, he produced an explosive swim to stop the clock in 25.05 seconds, finishing eighth in a fiercely contested heat to rank 27th overall out of 55 sprinters.
Returning to the blocks for the Women’s 50m Butterfly, Mewett contested heat two from lane three. She registered a time of 31.28 seconds to finish sixth in the heat, wrapping up the preliminary round in 30th place overall from 40 swimmers.
The sprint outings marked another valuable test on the world stage for the Bermudian pair, who continue to gain top-tier championship experience as Senegal stages the historic first Olympic event on African soil.
Tuesday, November 03, 2026
Maranzana & Mewett in action as Youth Olympic Continues
Mewett Diving in the Pool
IslandStats.com
Bermuda swimmers Noah Maranzana and Maggie Mewett returned to the pool at the Complexe Tour de l’Oeuf in Senegal as competition continued at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Taking to lane four in the opening heat of the men's 100m breaststroke, Maranzana touched the wall in 1:18.02 to finish second in his heat. The effort placed him 25th overall in the preliminary round standings.
Shortly afterwards, Mewett lined up in lane eight for heat four of the women's 100m breaststroke. She stopped the clock in 1:25.36 to finish eighth in a competitive heat, securing 22nd place overall across the heats.
The outing marked another valuable appearance on the international stage for the Bermudian pair, who are part of the island's contingent competing at the historic first Olympic event held on African soil.
Monday, November 02, 2026
Mewett Finishes 14th Overall in 100m Butterfly in Dakar
IslandStats.com
Bermudian swimmer Maggie Mewett placed 14th overall in the Women’s 100m Butterfly after finishing fifth in her heat at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Competing at the Tour de l’Oeuf aquatics venue in Senegal, Mewett took to the pool in the opening heat of the event.
The Bermudian touched the wall in a time of 1 minute 12.74 seconds to take fifth spot in the heat.
The result placed her 14th on the overall standings, concluding a memorable opening weekend in Dakar where she had previously shared flag-bearing honours for Bermuda during the Games' historic opening ceremony.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Mewett & Bortoli Carry Flag as Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics Open
IslandStats.com
Swimmer Maggie Mewett and triathlete Gianluca Bortoli proudly carried Bermuda's flag as the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games officially opened with a vibrant ceremony at the Stade Abdoulaye Wade in Diamniadio.
Staged on the outskirts of Dakar, the landmark celebration marked the first time an Olympic event has ever taken place on African soil. Over the next fortnight, 2,655 athletes aged between 14 and 17 will represent their nations across 25 sports.
A colourful parade of nations saw 205 delegations march into the 55,000-seater stadium. In accordance with Olympic tradition, Greece led the procession into the arena, followed immediately by the Refugee Olympic Team, before host nation Senegal entered to thunderous applause as the final team.
Embracing gender parity, most nations were represented by joint female and male flagbearers. Mewett and Bortoli shared the honour for Bermuda, leading out the island's contingent ahead of their upcoming competition in West Africa.
Action across the sporting schedule will continue through to November 13th as the world's finest young athletes contest medal events across Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly.
